Kool & the Gang will have a Jersey City street named after them, April 29.
A section of Maple Street in Jersey City will be renamed Kool & the Gang Way in a 2 p.m. April 29 ceremony. Brothers Robert “Kool” Bell and Ronald Bell, who co-founded the hit-making pop/funk/R&B group in the ’60s, grew up on this street, and bandmates Dennis Thomas, George Brown and the late Claydes Smith lived nearby.
Robert “Kool” Bell is also being honored at the Morris Canal Community Development Corporation’s “Lafayette Luminaries” fundraising gala, April 28 at the Liberty House Restaurant in Jersey City.
The part of Maple Street that will be renamed is the block between Pacific Avenue and Whiton Street
Upcoming New Jersey shows for the band include BergenPAC in Englewood, May 15; and the Event Center of Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa in Atlantic City (a double bill with Chaka Khan), Aug. 7.
The band’s many hits of the ’70s and ’80s include “Celebration,” “Jungle Boogie,” “Hollywood Swinging,” “Joanna” and “Cherish.”
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